Cougars score twice in final 6 minutes to earn a point

Resurrection Christian School's George Lund, left, and Dakota Ridge's Sam Burkhalter track down the puck along the boards in the first period Thursday.
(
Steve Stoner
)

FORT COLLINS -- Resurrection Christian was given every chance to quit.

Down 2-0 with little more than 6 minutes in the game and very few offensive chances up to that point, the Rez hockey team could have decided the hill was too steep.

But the Cougars didn't quit. They kept at it and earned a 2-2 tie against a tough and talented Dakota Ridge squad.

All the Cougars needed was a spark.

Rez drew back-to-back penalties 33 seconds apart to receive a critical 5-on-3 power play for 1:28 midway through the final period. Sophomore Hunter Hop took the puck, threw it at the net and found a crack just big enough to tickle twine. Finally, for the first time all contest, the Cougars had life.

"We try to stay positive the whole time and we're never out of a game. So we try to draw stuff up to get success," Rez coach Jake Pence said. "We got one shot through, and that's all it takes. It's nothin' pretty, we don't want those pretty goals; we just want hard working shots and it came through. I'm proud of those guys."

Again the Cougars looked dead in the water after taking a penalty with 3:28 left in the game, but drew on of their own to give themselves one final power play in the final 54 seconds.

Pence yanked goaltender Dylan Griffith out of the net in favor of an extra attacker to give Rez a 6-on-4 advantage. The move was a last-ditch effort to catch one final break. Senior George Lund came through for his coach and teammates.

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"I saw Kadin Ricciardi take a shot and then Tad Strohauer tried tapping it in and (the puck) was laying there just perfectly. I took a good whack at it and elation, pure elation," Lund said of is game-tying goal with 27 seconds on the clock. "Just joy. Yeah, it was beautiful."

Lund's goal sent the game to a 5-minute overtime period where neither team could manage a winner, ending the game in a tie. Rez picked up a point and left the ice feeling good about the effort put in to breathe life into an otherwise difficult game.

Resurrection Christian School goalie Dylan Griffith (1) and teammates Brayden Dawson, left, Tim Van Tuinen defend in front of the net against Dakota Ridge's Reed Hoogenboom in the first period Thursday at the NoCo Ice Center.
(
Steve Stoner
)

Dakota Ridge drew first blood on the power play in the first period, one of six man-advantage opportunities on the night for the Eagles. Rez took three penalties in the second, but kept Dakota Ridge from pushing the lead further.

The Eagles did force one through in the third on the power play to give themselves a 2-0 lead.

"This year I think we've been the most disciplined we've been taking penalties. And you can see special teams were big in the game. Every goal came on special teams tonight, but we need to make sure we stay disciplined on this stuff," Pence said. "But I thought the guys battled hard and even with those penalties, I feel it gives our penalty kill a chance to get going, which gives us some juice sometimes."

So no, the Cougars never looked at the game as over, a testament to the will of a young team still learning how to play

"I loved (the resiliency). We were down 2-0, battled back and never gave up," Lund said. "It was really a big stepping stone for our team. We matured a lot. Great tie, big point."